Yumekui Merry: Dream Human
by Ronnin-themanwithnoprinciples
Summary: WARNING: THIS YUMEKUI MERRY FANFICTION TAKES PLACE AFTER THE ANIME ENDING After some down time once defeating Mistilteinn, Yumeji and Merry are sucked into a Daydream that belongs to a boy that tells them he is not a Dream Demon, but a human! Review
1. NREM 1: The Dream Human

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any content from Yumekui Merry, I only claim my OC introduced in the story.**

Yumekui Merry: Dream Human

_NREM 1: The Dream Human_

Inside a mysterious Daydream, a small and weak Dream Demon fell back, frightened by the one who was about to kill him. The daydream took the appearance of a strange and eerie graveyard, but rather than tombstones, coffins hung in the air, held up by chains that suspended in the air. And nothing was in the sky, no sun and no moon; it was just a blanket of grey to add more of the Dream World's eerie quality.

Behind the quivering Dream Demon, one of the coffins opened. "You see that? It's your coffin." The mysterious figure to which this Daydream belonged said, then hit it back into the coffin and held the point of his scythe at his throat. "Time to die," The figure said and he beheaded the Dream Demon without hesitation.

And with that the Daydream ended, and a little boy walked through the crowd with his mother. But the boy was different from a moment ago, because the Dream Demon that inhabited him had been killed, and so he had lost his dream. A boy about 16 years old watched the little boy as he past, his eyes filled with malice, and his grey eyes also had large white dots in them, the sign of a Dream Demon, the same one that had just destroyed the little boy's dream.

The young boy was wearing a black leather jacket with a dark shirt underneath, and blue jeans that were frayed at the knees, and had black hair that hanged over his eyes. After losing sight of the child, the young boy got up and walked in the opposite direction, going hunting for more Dream Demons to slay.

"Hey, Yumeji, when we get back, let's play video games!" Merry pleaded.

"Again, don't you ever get tired of playing those?" Yumeji asked.

"Of course not, so come on we should play." Merry said again.

"Alright then, I guess we can." Yumeji reluctantly agreed.

Just then, although they paid no attention to it at first, a boy with a leather jacket on walked past by them, and then stopped walking right after, looking back at them intensely. He opened his Daydream.

Yumeji and Merry stopped immediately as they saw the Daydream world appear around them. "What, a Daydream?" Merry said in surprise as she looked around the coffin graveyard.

Just then Merry and Yumeji heard a slam from behind, and turned to see a coffin was opened, and someone was on top of it. "Who are you?" Yumeji asked.

"You see this coffin, Dream Demon?" The figure asked Merry. "It's yours." He said and flipped back off the coffin and turned to them, and although they didn't know it, it was the same boy that was standing in reality, only he had a pitch black cloak over his regular clothes.

"I have a couple questions before we start." The boy asked.

"What?" Merry asked.

"I saw both of you out in reality, so how is it one of you is here as a human without a Dream Demon? And how was the other in Reality without a vessel?" The boy asked.

"We don't exactly know the answer to either of those questions right now." Yumeji replied.

"Very well, then I won't delay any longer to put you in your coffin!" The boy said and waved his hand over his head, and a sort of black smog appeared around it and solidified into a scythe that fit the Daydream realm perfectly. The boy then leaped at Merry and swung his scythe down on her, but Merry jumped back to avoid it. "Those are some good reflexes there, Dream Demon."

"If you think that's good, just wait." Merry said, then ran at the boy and threw a punch at him, but he ducked to avoid it, then he swung his scythe at her.

"Time to die." The boy said, but then Merry managed to leap up above the scythe blade then kicked the boy away, also making him drop his weapon.

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet have I? I gobble up bad dreams and send them back to the other side. I'm the Dream Eater Merry!" Merry said.

The boy got to his feet, a little shaken by Merry's kick. "You send bad dreams back to the other side?" He asked. "You're saying you send Dream Demons back to the Dream World right?" He asked.

"Yea, I'll send you back for sure." Merry replied.

"Send me back? Where exactly?" The boy asked, puzzling Merry.

"To the Dream World, you said that just a second ago."

"Except you can't send me back somewhere I've never been in my life." The boy said.

"What do you mean, there's no way a Dream Demon could have been born in Reality."

"No there isn't, but I am not a Dream Demon." The boy said, ripping off his black cloak to reveal his regular clothing. "I'm a human!" He screamed at Merry, completely shocking her and Yumeji.

"A... human?" Yumeji repeated in question. "But then... where's your Dream Demon?"

The boy turned to Yumeji with an angered expression. "I killed my Dream Demon!"

"What?" Merry asked.

"Is that even possible?" Yumeji questioned.

"I'm tired of talking to you, time to die, Dream Demon!" The boy yelled and ran at Merry again, his scythe dissolving from the distance and reappearing in his hand.

"Merry, snap out of it!" Yumeji told Merry, who was so shocked she seemed as if she was in a trance. "Merry!" He yelled once more and she realized what was happening, and jumped back to dodge the boy's scythe just in time. Merry then ran forward and knocked the Scythe out of the boy's hands, then made to punch him. "Merry, don't do it, he's still a human!" Yumeji shouted and Merry stopped her punch just short of the boy's face, realizing Yumeji was entirely correct.

Merry slowly backed away in that realization. "I see, so that's how it is." The boy said. "You can't hurt me because I'm human, is that it?" The boy turned away and walked toward the coffin he had opened for Merry, and then put the lid back on.

"What are you doing?" Merry asked.

After putting the coffin's lid back on, the boy started writing something in the dirt with his finger, what he wrote was "Dream Eater Merry". "This coffin is reserved for you, Dream Demon." The boy said, only glancing back at her. "But for now I will show you mercy just as you showed me. You are without a doubt the strongest Dream Demon I've come to face so far." He said and walked over to pick up his scythe. "Assuming you fought me with all your strength and skill, it is quite possible I would lose, so for now I won't hunt you, but next time we meet in battle you won't be so lucky." He told them and the Daydream ended.

Yumeji and Merry looked around a bit, still shaken up over what just happened, but after a moment, they stopped and started walking back home. Although they didn't see him, the boy they had fought had been just a little behind them in the crowd, staring at them until they were out of view, then turned around, walking away.

"So this is what it feels like." The boy said and put his hand on the cheek Merry had kicked. "The pain a human experiences from a Dream Demon."

The next day Yumeji went to school and tried not to think about what had happened yesterday, but that was going to be harder than he thought as he soon found out. "Class," The teacher said. "We have a new student joining us today, so please give a warm welcome to Yoru Fukui." She said and the new student walked in, who was wearing a leather jacket over his school uniform.

As Yumeji looked over at him, he realized instantly that is was the same boy that attacked Merry and him yesterday. As an instinct, Yumeji jumped from his chair in surprise, also startling the rest of the class. "Yumeji, are you alright?" Isana asked.


	2. NREM 2: Alike

_NREM 2: Alike_

"Class, we have a new student joining us today, so please give a warm welcome to Yoru Fukui." The teacher said and the new student walked in, wearing a leather jacket over his school uniform.

Yumeji jumped from his chair, startling the rest of the class, as he realized that the new student was the same boy that attacked Merry and him yesterday. "Yumeji, are you alright?" Isana asked.

"Do you know him or something?" Saki asked.

"Oh, no, it's nothing." Yumeji lied and tried to look casual again as he sat down.

"'Surprised by the new student' By Takateru Akiyanagi." Takateru said as he wrote a Haiku.

"Alright Yoru, you can go take the seat behind Yumeji over there." The teacher told Yoru, and he went to take his seat.

Yumeji glanced back at Yoru, but he didn't react, and was writing something on paper. Then he turned the paper around to show Yumeji, reading 'Just be quiet'. Then Yoru crumpled up the paper.

When lunch break started, Yumeji stood up and faced Yoru. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked, and Yoru stood up and walked out to the hall with Yumeji.

"Go ahead and ask your questions." Yoru told Yumeji.

"What's your angle by coming to my school?" Yumeji asked.

Yoru looked displeased, although then again he had never looked pleased in the first place. "That's the question you decide to ask me? Why I came to your school? Maybe it slipped your mind since I attacked that Dream Demon, but besides the fact I hunt Dream Demons, I'm just a 15 year old kid. I have a life, a family, parents, and I need to go to school. I don't have any ulterior motive for coming here."

"Oh, well then why do want to kill Dream Demons?" Yumeji asked.

"Two dumb questions in a row? The obvious answer to that question is that I hate them because they steal humans' dreams and hold them captive."

"Well now you're the one doing something stupid." Yumeji told Yoru.

"How so?" Yoru asked.

"Because killing a person's Dream Demon doesn't set their dream free, it destroys their dream along with the Demon."

"Do you really think that after all the Dream Demon's I've killed I haven't taken notice of that?"

"Then why?"

"Because it's better for humans to live a free and dreamless life than a trapped life with no chance of getting a chance to fulfill that dream." Yoru answered.

"I don't believe that." Yumeji said. "Nothing is worth throwing away other's dreams."

"What an innocent thought. To bad it alone can't free all those captive dreams." Yoru said.

"It can't, but Merry can." Yumeji said, surprising Yoru a bit. "Merry has the power to send Dream Demons back to the Dream World and free the human's captive dream."

Yoru stepped up close to Yumeji. "I will destroy all Dream Demon's! Your friend is not an exception just because it doesn't use a vessel, and I won't make exceptions for any other Demon either; regardless of what you think you can do." Yoru exclaimed, and then began to walk back to class.

"Is that your dream then?" Yumeji asked, and Yoru stopped and turned back. "To see the demise of all Dream Demons?"

Yoru took a moment to respond. "Whatever dream I had… was lost when I killed my Dream Demon." Yoru answered plainly, and walked back to class.

After school ended, instead of going strait home, Yoru hung around the school. Even though he had no ulterior motive for coming to this school other than the fact he needed to attend, with so many students a few of them were bound to have a Dream Demon. Similar to Yumeji's ability to see if a Dream Demon inhabited a human by making a circle over his eyes with his hands, Yoru could sense the presence of a Dream Demon when it was within the vicinity of his Daydream radius.

Yoru was walking around the students doing after-school activities like sports, looking for anyone with a Dream Demon, but strangely to him did not find any. He found this strange because lately he had been finding an increased number of Dream Demons, but yet here at this school the number was unusually low. In fact, ever since his family moved to this city, he hadn't found nearly as many Dream Demons as he normally had.

"Is it because of them?" Yoru wondered, thinking about Yumeji and Merry. "They said that Dream Demon had the power to return other ones back to the Dream World, if that's true, then they must have gotten to most of the Dream Demons before I moved here. Then there is the matter of Yumeji, he could enter my Daydream even though he wasn't a vessel. Could it be that he's like I am?" Yoru asked aloud.

Instead of thinking on it any longer, Yoru decided to go home. However, on his way out of school he walked by a girl that caught his attention. She had long brown hair and brown eyes. But more importantly, Yoru could sense the presence of a Dream Demon, but it was different from normal, and in response he opened up his Daydream. The girl who had been drinking a soda she got from a vending machine had also appeared in the space he created.

"Where...?" She said, almost unconsciously.

"Let me ask you, what is your name?" Yoru asked the girl, walking up to her.

The girl seemed like her soul had been lost, and Yoru knew why, this girl had a Dream Demon at one point in her past, but it had been killed, so her dream was lost, turning her into this semi-conscious person who barely knew what she was doing. "Chizuru... Kawanami." The girl replied.

Yoru looked into Chizuru's eyes, and apparently found what he was looking for, because after a moment he said, "So I was right, you're the same as I was." Chizuru looked up a Yoru, not understanding the meaning of his words. "Your Dream Demon is dead because of something you did, isn't it?" Yoru accused, but Chizuru's expression stayed blank. "Ah, enough time hasn't past for you to recall the event or interact normally like me. I'd say it will be another month before you can do that. But you being here in front of me is all the proof I need, and even if that wasn't enough, the rest of the proof is right there in your hand." Yoru said, and Chizuru looked down to her hand, where she held a hand pistol.

Chizuru held the pistol up and surveyed it. "Leon..." She muttered.

"Was that the name of your Dream Demon? That gun in your hand is what really proves you're the same as me. A human can gain the weapon of their Dream Demon by causing its death in some shape or form. How did you do it?" He asked.

"No," Chizuru replied. "I wasn't the one who killed Leon. That was Mistilteinn who did it." She told Yoru, and how strange, it seemed to him it almost sounded like she was trying to defend herself, even though in her current state she shouldn't have half the brain to do so.

"What happened after the Dream Demon died?" Yoru asked.

"I did what he wanted; I used his agony and despair to forge the bullet that could kill Mistilteinn." Chizuru answered.

"I get it, in the despair and agony used to forge the bullet, your Dream Demon's soul must have still resided in it." Yoru told Chizuru.

"What?"

"That means when you fired the bullet made of its life; it was you who killed it by technicality. And that is how you ended up like me, a human who has lost their Dream and gained the Demon's weapon."

"But," Chizuru started, although in her current state, communicating was still difficult.

"You still can't communicate very well, the fact you've managed a few complete sentences is quite amazing. Perhaps being in a Daydream is helping you recover." Yoru told Chizuru. "Since you are like me, however, I want to ask if you'd help me kill the Dream Demons."

Chizuru looked up at Yoru. "Kill them?" She asked.

"Dream Demons are the source of all our suffering, if we could just get rid of them, this world would be a much better place."

"Kill Dream Demons?"

"I don't need an answer from you yet, in fact it's best you recover completely before you do give me one." Yoru told Chizuru, and his daydream ended, the two of them flashing back to in front of the vending machine. "One month and I'll come back to hear your answer." He told her and walked away.

Chizuru stood still, watching as Yoru walked away. Once he was gone, she gripped her soda can, slightly crushing it. "Leon..." She whispered to herself, almost seeming angry at Yoru.


	3. NREM 3: Chizuru

_NREM 3: Chizuru_

"Wake up, Yumeji, breakfast is ready." Isana told Yumeji, who was face down in his bed.

Reluctantly Yumeji picked up his body and dragged himself out of bed. "I'll be right there." He said sleepily which made Isana giggle before she closed the door.

A few minutes later Yumeji came downstairs for breakfast and seemed quite energized. Merry, Isana and her father were already at the table. While in the middle of eating, Isana turned and asked Yumeji and asked, "Hey Yumeji, have you spoken with Chizuru lately?"

Yumeji stopped at her question. Isana knew nothing about the Dream World and the conflicts with Mistleteinn, so she didn't know that Chizuru had lost her soul and her dream from firing Lestion's gun. "No, why?" Yumeji replied, trying to play it cool.

"Well anytime I've tried talking with her lately she was acting like I wasn't there. Even when I asked her to come over a few days ago she just walked strait past me." Isana explained.

"Well I'm sure she's fine, maybe she's got something really important on her mind." Yumeji lied, trying to end the subject.

"But that's no excuse to be ignoring me; she could at least tell me what's going on." Isana griped.

"Just try leaving her alone for a while, maybe she'll come around." Yumeji said.

Isana sighed with defeat. "Alright," She groaned.

"Alright, who's ready for another one of my famous 'Yumeji Dream Reading'?" Yumeji asked playfully to his friends when they met at the school. He put his fingers into a circle over his eyes and looked around at his friends.

"I thought you say you weren't seeing as well a while back?" Saki asked.

Yumeji had said that before because he was asked to look at Isana's dream aura because she had been having weird dreams. The truth of this matter, unbeknownst to her, was that she had been possessed by a Dream Demon. Yumeji had lied about not being able to see the aura's lately to keep her out of the whole situation.

"Right, but it seems it was just a temporary thing because I'm back to normal." He said, once again lying since he never actually had lost the ability in the first place.

Yumeji read Saki's, Isana's and Mei's dream aura and told them what kind of dream they were likely to have that night; but of course did not read did not do the same for Takateru, as he did not wish to have his read, and Yumeji respected his wishes.

Just before class started, Yumeji saw Yoru enter the class. He looked out of place with his leather jacket over his school uniform and got a few strange looks from the other student who wondered if it was really okay for him to do so. But Yumeji had his own reasons for looking at Yoru.

Yumeji wanted to keep as close an eye on Yoru as possible because if he wasn't careful, Yoru would end up destroying countless people's dreams by killing their Dream Demons; and he wouldn't allow that.

However, as Yoru looked up at met Yumeji's gaze, Yumeji found himself being sucked into Yoru's Daydream. "What are you doing?" Yumeji asked as Yoru approached.

"Tell me something. Were you aware that Chizuru Kawanami used to have a Dream Demon?" Yoru asked, at which Yumeji was taken aback; how did Yoru know Chizuru _used_ to have a Dream Demon if he didn't move here until after the fact.

After a second of silence, Yumeji answered. "Yeah, I knew about it…" He said, not sure where this was even going.

Yoru crossed Yumeji and went to the coffin he wrote Merry's name on, taking his index finger and wiping away a line of dust under it. "If you knew about it, and your Dream Demon friend can indeed send other demons back to the Dream World, why didn't you do so to hers?" He asked.

"At the point we first learned about Lestion, we weren't aware of Merry's power. It wasn't long before he and us were both working together to defeat Mystreltienn. The circumstances of his death were his choosing and out of our hands. And in fact he had initially chosen Chizuru as his vessel because she had no dream to be lost when he came to die." Yumeji explained the circumstances that surrounded the Mystreltienn events. "When that changed it was of course too late for a change in vessel, so he had no choice but to go through with it as originally planned. And we still hadn't really learned about Merry's power until after the fact."

"I see… Alright then, now I'll tell you something you don't already know. Because of the circumstance of her Dream Demon's death, she inherited his powers and has ended up the same as I am now." Yoru said, startling Yumeji.

"What, but I thought you only got your Dream Demon's power by killing it yourself?"

"Inadvertent as it was, she was still ultimately responsible for the elimination of its soul."

"But, if she's really like you then…"

"That's right; she has the ability to combat Dream Demons as I do. In fact I've talked to her about helping me when she regains the ability to act normally."

"You're saying she will eventually return to normal?"

"As normal as one can be after having lost their dream. She'll be just like me; emotionless, uncaring, and passive. If her Dream Demon chose her as a vessel because she had no dream to be lost, then she was probably acting as such beforehand as well, so for her, she really will be back to normal." Yoru explained. "That's the end of our conversation." He stated and closed his Daydream, landing him and Yumeji back in the same second that they had left.

Yumeji made an attempt to look as casual as possible as not to raise the suspicion of his friends. And when class started they all took their seats. The rest of the day went on without a hit, and Yumeji tried to think about Yoru as little as possible, but naturally that was difficult with them in the same class.

Still, Yoru telling him about Chizuru's condition shook him up a little. If Chizuru would really be like she first was when Lestion chose her as a vessel, there was no guarantee she would be on their side once she was. Before she became friends with Isana, Chizuru had many-a-time watched on the sidelines as Mystreltienn killed off Dream Demons for the purpose of killing her.

Chizuru would have no reason not to help Yoru kill off the Dream Demons and almost every reason to help him. Because of Dream Demons, Chizuru lost her dream; because of Dream Demons, she was forced into a battle that wasn't really hers; and because of Dream Demons, Isana, the only person she had truly looked to as a friend, meant nothing to her anymore.

Despite all of this, Yumeji waited out the school day until dismissal, at which time Isana and Yumeji began to walk home together. "Hey Yumeji, are you alright?" Isana suddenly asked out of the blue.

"Huh, I'm fine, why do you ask?" Yumeji replied.

"Well I feel like ever since that new kid, Yoru, came in the other day you've been acting a bit strange." Isana told him. Being such good friends and living together, Isana knew Yumeji like the back of her hand, so she could tell if he was acting strangely.

"What, no not at all!" Yumeji denied it quickly, doing his best to act as silly as he could. "Why would I be acting strange because of Yoru?"

"Well what about that time you took him into the hall his first day during lunch?" Isana asked, and Yumeji froze in place.

He simply overlooked how out of place that must have looked to the others. Yumeji sighed. "Alright you caught me…" He said in a voice of resignation. "I did that because I could have sworn I knew him before. I didn't want to say anything because his name was wrong. But it was still bothering me so I asked him about it out in the hall to be sure." He covered.

"Really?" Isana asked, not so sure he was telling the truth.

"Really, he just looked like someone I knew a long time ago, that's all." Yumeji confirmed.

Isana still didn't seem sure, but she accepted it. "Alright," she said with a sigh.

When Isana and Yumeji got home, they were greeted by Isana's father, who had just made a cup of black coffee for the one customer in the store right now. However, when the two of them looked to see who the customer was, they were quite surprised to see Chizuru sitting there, looking strait at them as if she'd come specifically to see them.

When you looked close enough however, it became apparent she wasn't looking at them both, but just Yumeji. Chizuru took a large sip of her coffee and asked, "Can I speak with you alone for a moment, Yumeji?"


	4. NREM 4: Recovery and Relapse

_NREM 4: Recovery and Relapse_

"Can I speak with you alone for a moment, Yumeji?" That was the ever simple question Chizuru Kawanami asked. The same Chizuru Kawanami who had her soul and dream destroyed by shooting a bullet made of the despair of her own Dream Demon, Lestion. The same Chizuru who had not spoken a word to Isana in the months since the incident occurred. That Chizuru was now sitting in Isana's family coffee shop as if none of that had ever happened, and asking specifically to speak with Yumeji.

Immediately Yumeji thought to his meeting with Yoru at the start of class that day. Yoru had described how he had found Chizuru and told him of how she was now in the same position he had found himself in by killing his Dream Demon.

Knowing because of this that Chizuru's coming here could mean nothing good, Yumeji put on a stern face and answered her. "Yeah, let's go upstairs," He told her, and began walking that direction.

Chizuru took another sip of her coffee then stood up and followed behind Yumeji. Yumeji led Chizuru upstairs and into his bedroom, after which he closed the door behind them. "Is this about Yoru?" He asked immediately.

"So you do know about Yoru." Chizuru said. "Yes, it about him; yesterday, he pulled me into a Daydream/"

"He already told me about that, he said that you had inadvertently been the one to kill Leon?" Yumeji inquired, not knowing all the facts.

"That's what he told me. Apparently, when I used Leon's despair to forge the bullet capable of wounding Mystreltienn, his soul was still alive. So by firing off the bullet, I killed what was left of him." Chizuru explained.

"So that means… you still have Leon's gun?" Yumeji questioned, as a gun was the weapon Leon had used.

"Yeah," Chizuru responded. "He also said something about my level of recovery, that maybe being in a Daydream again accelerated it, I didn't understand what he meant though."

"Yoru killed his Dream Demon and was reduced to a state like anyone who's Dream Demon has been slain. But, according to him, because he had been the one to do it, he recovered to a state most can't achieve; dreamless but capable of interacting with others regularly."

"He told me I should be at that state in about a month, but I already…" Chizuru began, but her words were lost for some reason.

"Chizuru?" Yumeji asked. However, Chizuru did not respond this time. Instead she looked around the room as if she didn't know where she was anymore. "Chizuru, are you alright?"

Chizuru suddenly began to walk past Yumeji and opened the door to his room. She walked out and down the stairs. Yumeji tried to stop her, but she just continued to walk like he wasn't there.

When Chizuru got back downstairs she completely ignored everyone there and left the restaurant. "What was that about?" Isana asked quizzically.

"I'm… not sure," Yumeji replied while scratching his head. It wasn't just that he couldn't tell her about Dream Demons, but to the question of why she had left so suddenly, he honestly had no idea how to answer that question.

"Well, what were you two talking about?" Isana followed up.

Yumeji found this question much harder to answer. He obviously couldn't tell her what they actually talked about. But what kind of excuse could he give to her that wouldn't lead to another question he couldn't answer.

In a quick and desperate attempt to end the conversation before things got out of hand, Yumeji replied. "It's kind of personal…"

Unfortunately, that turned out to _not_ be the best way to end the conversation. In response to this excuse, it was Isana's father to spoke. "Oh, could this be unrequited love?" He asked, which Isana responded to with a shocked gasp leaping from her mouth, and Yumeji by straitening his back in surprise to the conclusion that only he could have come to. "Ah! I got it didn't I Yumeji? Finally becoming a man are you?"

"What?" Yumeji jumped. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no; it's like that!" He denied.

"Eh, wait a second, when I asked you about Chizuru this morning you were dodging my questions too!" Isana realized. "You even said 'she might have something important on her mind.' Is this what you meant by that!?" She blurted out.

"No, nothing like that is going on, I swear!" Yumeji tried desperately to assure Isana of that, but her face showed it was to no avail. Suddenly, the door to the store opened and Merry walked in, and everyone turned to her, and as she noticed their strange expressions, an awkward silence was created.

Yumeji secretly made a sigh of relief in his heart, as this silence at least got everyone off the topic of Chizuru. "Ah, Merry, can I talk to you for a minute?" Yumeji asked, and then grabbed Merry by the wrist and pulled her back up the stairs to his room.

Yumeji dragged Merry up to his room and told her about everything that just happened with Chizuru. "So, Chizuru is getting better?" She confirmed.

"Yeah, but we need to focus on what do from here on out." Yumeji replied. "Yoru is a major threat. He plans to kill all the Dream Demons he can find, and he doesn't even care that it means destroying the possessed persons dream in the process."

"But he's still a human," Merry noted. "I can't send him to the Dream World if he isn't a Dream Demon."

"I know that. But we still can't just let him do as he wants." Yumeji said. "We can't send him to the Dream World; but maybe we can find a way to strip him of his Dream Demon powers."

At this idea, Merry looked up a bit. "But how would we go about doing that?" She asked.

"I don't know, but we've got to figure something out, and we've got to do it fast."

The next day came and Yumeji and Isana went to school together, although Yumeji couldn't help but think Isana was still thinking about what happened yesterday with Chizuru. When Yumeji got to class, he looked around but saw neither Chizuru nor Yoru around.

Class began without either of them showing up, and so Yumeji went through the normal steps of his day apart from Isana half ignoring him. When the lunch break began, Saki suggested they all go up to the roof to eat.

They made their way up to the school roof, but when they did they saw someone already there, sitting at the edge hanging his legs over the side and wearing a black leather jacket over his school uniform. They didn't even need to see his face to know it was Yoru Fukui.

"Huh, you're… Fukui right?" Isana asked. "What are you doing up here, why didn't you come to class?" She asked, but Yoru didn't seem like he even registered they were there.

Isana started walking toward Yoru and reached her hand out to him, but before she touched his shoulder to turn him around, he suddenly shot a glare at her as if he thought she was about to push him off the building, making her retreat her hand in fright. Without so much as saying a word, Yoru gets to his feet and walked past everyone to the door and slammed it shut behind him.

"Well what was that about?" Saki questioned after a moment of surprised silence went by.

"The transfer student, mysterious and angry, wants to be alone: by Takateru Akiyanagi." Taka recited in response.

"What kind of poem is that?" Saki asked with a slightly disturbed expression.

Despite the strange incident, Yumeji and the others began to eat their lunch together. However, when Yumeji noticed Isana looking down and not eating, he spoke up. "Hey, you alright Isana?" He asked.

"What," Isana said, apparently having been lost in though until Yumeji spoke up. "Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine." She answered unconvincingly.

"Is this about Yoru?" Yumeji asked.

Isana looked down again and clenched her hands. "It's just, his eyes were so cold. I've never seen someone filled with so much anger before; it looked like he was directing hatred at me." She told Yumeji.

Since Yumeji knew what Yoru's problem was, he wasn't sure how to comfort her or assure her it was a misunderstanding. "Just try giving him some space. He never really seemed to be the social type." Was all he could think of, and although it didn't seem to do much, Isana smiled at Yumeji's attempt to make her feel better.

After leaving the roof, Yoru completely left the school and headed to nowhere in particular, just so long as he could get away. He wandered around until he got to an empty alleyway and then slid his back down a wall behind a dumpster. His anger on the roof was not intentional or directed at anyone there.

"Another blackout," He whispered to himself and put his hand to his head.

As he said this, he thought about what he saw during his blackout. They had been images from before he killed his Dream Demon. Ever since he recovered and started fighting against the Dream Demons, every so often he would blackout for a random stretch of time and remember things about his Dream Demon. The anger he had displayed was a natural reaction to those memories for him.

But recently the blackouts had been becoming more frequent, and longer. He had no idea what this meant or why it happened at all. But he did know it was a bad thing. He felt something inside of him as if it was trying to escape, and made him fear that perhaps his Dream Demon wasn't completely gone.


	5. NREM 5: Bigger Problems

_NREM 5: Bigger Problems_

2 figures stood within Yoru's Daydream; the first of course was him. And the second… was Pharos Heracles. "If I understand you right – you are telling me the reason so many Dream Demons in this world as of late – is because of you?" Yoru asked the Dream Demon wielding a huge axe.

"That is correct, boy." Heracles responded.

"In that case, killing you would be the first big step in eradication of Dream Demons from this world." Yoru said and held his scythe to up and stepped to the side of one of the suspended coffins. "Here's your coffin, Dream Demon; time to die." He added, and the charged for the powerful Dream Demon known as Heracles.

"Okay, we'll be back in a few hours." Yumeji said as he and Merry left STO to go to the supermarket.

It was the weekend, so as long as there wasn't school, Isana's dad had Yumeji go out to get groceries; and of course Merry insisted on going along with him.

While on the way to the Supermarket, Merry brought up Yoru. "Hey, have you though of any ideas about how we can strip that Demon killer's power?" She asked.

Yumeji sighed and looked up at the sky. "No, I can't think of anything. We've never had to deal with a problem like this before; the idea of fighting a human instead of a Dream Demon." He replied.

"Hey, what happens if there isn't a way to take his powers away? What do we do then?" Merry asked.

"…" Yumeji couldn't find an answer.

"So there are no hopes and no dreams again, huh?" Merry stated.

"We can't think like that!" Yumeji blurted out without really thinking. "There has to be a way. They said there was no way to send Dream Demons back to the Dream World, but you proved them wrong. Why not do it again now?" He asked and turned to face Merry behind him. "I believe there is a way. There has to be a way to stop Yoru without hurting him." Yumeji declared.

"Yeah," she said, but not looking or sounding actually convinced, and the two went on into the Supermarket, dropping the subject for the time being.

While Merry and Yumeji were out, the door to STO opened and a person entered. As the bell rang to alert Isana and her dad of a customer, Isana turned to greet them. "Welcome, I'll be right-" She began, but stopped upon seeing just who was at the door.

"Alright let's see, we need some spaghetti noodles and sauce." Yumeji read off the list Isana's dad gave them and Merry picked the items off the shelves, tossing them into the basket.

Once they had gotten everything on the list, they headed for check out and paid for everything. Once finished, they made to leave to Supermarket until they saw someone they recognized at another one of the checkouts.

"Have a nice day, sir." The checkout lady said to the man who had just purchased a few pack of cigarettes and a six pack of beer.

"Thanks a bunch, lady." The man said with an uncaring tone as he pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, a lit it with a lighter. Seeing the man, Merry and Yumeji froze. His real name was Ken; however, they knew him by the name of the Dream Demon possessing him – Maze Landsborough. He made his way to leave the store, but stopped as his eyes crossed over Merry and Yumekui.

There was a single second where neither party did or said anything, but then Merry ran forward at Landsborough. Seeing this, Landsborough ran away, attempting to escape before she could catch him. Yumeji ran after Merry and the three ran out of the Supermarket and through the street. Landsborough ran as fast as he could, but Merry finally caught up with him as he tried to turn a corner in an alleyway. "Hold it right there!" She yelled as she grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back around, and then grabbing onto his shirt collar to keep him from running. "Open up your Daydream!" She ordered just as Yumeji caught up to them.

"Eh?" Landsborough stuttered upon hearing Merry's demands.

"Open it!" Merry repeated, shaking him a bit. "Open up your Daydream and I'll beat you back to the Dream World where you belong!"

For a moment, Landsborough was silent as he processed what the Dream Eater was telling him. After that, he smiled in victory. "And why should I?" He asked, and Merry's anger changed into confusion. "You're saying you can't open up one of your own, right? That means to fight me I have to bring you into mine or both of us be dragged into someone else's like that Sword Girl's in order to fight me?" He questioned, and Merry realized where she was beat. "Well then why the hell would I open my Daydream to let you beat me up!? I'm smart enough to realize I got no hope of beatin' you in a fight, not on my own anyways. So tell me why I should do something that would only work to my disadvantage!?"

Merry didn't know what to say in response to this, but then tightened her grip and repeated herself. "Open it, or else-"

"Or else what; are you thinking of punching me out here?" Landsborough interrupted. "Like you got the guts! Knowing you, even if you did do that you'd just beat yourself up later about striking my vessel to get at me!" Landsborough laughed in Merry's face. "No, I think I'm gonna spend a little more time enjoying myself in this body. So long as I don't run into you when you have Threepiece around, I can avoid you for as long as I want." With Landsborough saying all of this, Merry lost her nerve and let go of him. "That's more like it. Now if you'll excuse me I have things to do." He stated and then walked away with his hand in his pockets and laughing scornfully at Merry and Yumeji, who were helpless to do anything against him.

After he was gone, Merry pulled her hat down over her eyes in shame. "There really are no hopes and no dreams…" She said again, and this time Yumeji couldn't even try to cheer her up.

In a hurry, Yoru broke his Daydream. But as he did so, he fell to his knees and then dropped onto the ground in pain. He gripped his chest and squinted from the injuries he sustained in his fight with Heracles.

As he was in a public area at the time, the people around Yoru started to panic at his sudden collapse, people saying to call an ambulance and get help. Someone tried asking Yoru if he was alright and what happened to him, but he didn't answer.

Yoru wasn't thinking about any of the people around him. All he was focused on was a single pair of feet behind the crowd now gathered around him. That pair of feet belonged to the person Heracles was using as a vessel. He couldn't see his face from where he was on the ground, but he already knew what he looked like. But in his situation that information wasn't worth anything.

Yoru continued to focus on that pair of feet until they finally began to walk away, leaving him there as he slowly lost consciousness.

A little later, the Daydream of Heracles opened up, but it was not for the purpose of a battle. It was a meeting between him and his supporters. At the moment, there were only two others there. One was Landsborough, who had just gotten away from Merry and Yumeji since there was no way for them to fight him outside a Daydream. The other was a woman named Chain Noir, a woman with black and white hair and was only half dressed. Her pupil was made of 2 thin ovals overlapping like a Venn diagram.

"Hello again, my friends." Heracles greeted the two Dream Demons.

"Master Heracles, good to see you as al-ways?" Landsborough said, but his statement became confusion upon seeing an actual injury, a cut into Heracles's shoulder. "Master, how did you get that wound!?" Landsborough asked frantically.

"Oh, this?" Heracles asked, as if it meant absolutely nothing. "I just ran into a rather interesting boy a while ago and well… I may have let myself have a bit too much fun."

"Oh, a Dream Demon strong enough to entertain you before he died; that's rare." Chain Noir noted.

"No, you are wrong on two points." Heracles told Chain Noir. "The first being that he is not dead, I allowed him to escape because of how amusing he was."

"And the second?" Chain Noir asked, not sure what else there could be.

"He was not a Dream Demon, but a human!" Heracles told them, and both of them became almost stunned.

"H-h-h-h-h-h-h-human!? A human had enough strength to harm you Master?" Landsborough stuttered.

"Apparently, he took the powers of the Dream Demon that previously controlled him as his own after killing him." Heracles informed them and then put his hand over his wounded shoulder. "Being intrigued at this boy, I simply went a bit too easy on him for the sake of killing time." He said, and then moved his hand away from his shoulder, which was now in pristine condition. "But enough of that, back to the business at hand about _her_." Heracles said.

"That's right; she does pose a large threat to our operation." Chain Noir added.

"_Her_?" Landsborough questioned. "You mean the Dream Eater girl?"

"No, someone else is here that we must take note of."

Landsborough then remembered who _she_ was. "What, but I thought she died?"

"It appears _she_ lived, the question is, what to do about it?" Heracles asked his comrades, and there was a moment where none of them said anything.

Yumeji and Merry got back to STO, but were still down after there run in with Landsborough. But in contrast to their mood, Isana suddenly jumped out in front of them with a huge grin on her face.

"Yumeji, you're back!" She said with enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I was only gone a couple of-"

"Nevermind; you'll never believe who came in while you were gone." Isana hurried, grabbing Yumeji's hand and pulling him into the eating area of the restaurant where a certain man was leaning against the wall while speaking with Isana's dad.

Upon seeing his face, Yumeji froze, unable to believe his eyes. "Ah, there you are Yumeji; I was hoping to see you before I left." The man told him and gave a friendly smile.

Merry came over and when she saw the man, her expression was the same as Yumeji's. "You're…"

"Isn't it great? Mr. Ijima is back and he even said he got his job at the school back!" Isana added.

Ryota Ijima. The man who was previously the vessel of Mistleteinn and had used her power to force Dream Demons into vessels and kill them, resulting in the loss of the human's dream. Despite having killed Mistleteinn off, which should have resulted in the loss of Ijima's dream, he was standing there just like his old self. "Yeah, so it looks like I'll be seeing a lot more of you guys again." Mr. Ijima said with another smile, as if none of it had ever happened.


	6. NREM 6: What is the 'Truth'

_NREM 6: What is the 'Truth'_

"Sorry, I'm really tired right now, so I'm going to just go to bed early." Yumeji said, using that as an excuse to get away from Mr. Ijima who suddenly appeared at STO.

Merry went upstairs with Yumeji, leaving the others there wondering what that was about. "Yumeji?" Isana muttered in question, finding that action very unlike Yumeji.

Mr. Ijima looked up the stairs after Yumeji, and dropped his head, the reflection of light on his glasses hiding his eyes.

Once in his room, Yumeji plopped down on his bed and shut his eyes, trying not to think about Mr. Ijima being downstairs. Despite having made up the story of being tired and wanting to turn in early, Yumeji suddenly felt very sleepy and gave a big yawn. Within minutes he had fallen asleep and began dreaming.

But it wasn't a dream, it was a Nightmare; Chaser John Doe's Nightmare to be exact. He hadn't checked himself for what kind of dream he would have, so he hadn't realized this was on its way. "Yo, it's been awhile kid." A voice spoke and Yumeji turned around and saw a small blue-eyed, dark-furred cat that wore white gloves and boots that he had frequently seen when he had been here before.

With the cat, Chaser John Doe sat perched in a chair, looking at Yumeji from behind a mask. "Well, it certainly has been awhile, John." Yumeji said with a grin. "So, to what do I owe this visit? Last time I saw you was after I got injured by Engi." He noted.

"Indeed, and we spoke of her then as well, didn't we?" John Doe replied.

"Her?"

"Mistleteinn; the man she used as a vessel is back, is he not?" John reminded Yumeji.

"Oh, you were watching that?" Yumeji asked with a frown.

"Yes I was. But the question right now is why did you not scan him for a Dream Demon? If he has been possessed again, he will only bring you trouble."

Yumeji realized that he should have done that. Mistleteinn was supposed to have died, and yet Ijima has not been affected as someone normally would be at the loss of a Dream Demon. If he had another Dream Demon, he definitely posed a threat; but if he didn't…

"But what if he doesn't have a Dream Demon? Why has he come back?" Yumeji asked, more to himself than John.

"From what I have observed, Humans have a certain way of picking themselves up after they have fallen and reshaping themselves after their goal has been utterly shattered. Perhaps your old teacher has had such a revelation."

"You think he's changed? You think he regrets what he did?"

"That is not something I can say." John answered. "However, I believe there was once a man in your world that said something along these lines: 'To know what a person is truly like, you must first allow him strength'." Yumeji looked at John with a bit of surprise that he knew a quote from Reality, but understood the point of bringing it up. "In your teacher's case, Mistleteinn was the strength that tested him. And without that strength…"

"He would act like he did beforehand." Yumeji finished, and then thought on that for a minute. "Hey John, do you think I can trust Mr. Ijima if he doesn't have a Dream Demon?"

Once again there was a pause. "It is not a question of whether or not you can trust him, I think." John said at last. "Just because he acts differently does not mean he has truly changed, it simply means he is afraid. The only question you can ask logically is whether or not he is a threat. So long as he has no strength, he will pose no threat; but give him strength once again, and his true colors will show themselves as well." Yumeji was silent, thinking about how to approach this problem with this information. "In any case, other than Mistleteinn's former vessel, there was another matter I wished to speak to you about. That is, the matter of Heracles." John said, and Yumeji regained his concentration. "Despite how much time has passed, you and the little lamb have failed to locate him."

Yumeji took a little offense to that statement, but that didn't change the fact that it was true. "Yeah, we haven't gotten any leads at all. We can't find his vessel or even figure out what his objective really is."

"Last time we spoke about Heracles as well. I told you that at the time I was collecting information about the abnormal state of the two worlds." John reminded Yumeji. "But the amount of information I can gather on the other side is extremely limited. In order for me to continue in my pursuit of the truth, I will need to acquire a vessel in this world."

"So you mean, you came here to ask me to be your vessel?" Yumeji inferred from John's words.

"No," John replied, contrary to Yumeji's beliefs. "I have found a much better candidate to be my vessel, and so I have come here to tell you this, as my being here seems to be the reason you can enter Daydreams." John warned Yumeji, as that meant he would no longer be able to assist Merry as much as before.

"So this is the last time we'll meet?" Yumeji asked.

"No, I will meet you again later; but this time in the real world." John told Yumeji, and he was a bit surprised. "Now then, I bid you farewell for now. It's time to wake up." John gave his last word as a toy rooster made a crowing noise, and John's Nightmare faded away.

The next day Yumeji and Isana arrived at school. "Yumeji, why didn't you seem excited about Mr. Ijima being back yesterday?" Isana finally asked as they got to the front gate.

"I told you, I was just tired." Yumeji lied.

After everything that happened with Landsborough at the Supermarket, coming home to find his worst enemy had come back as good as new did not help. And it wasn't like he didn't have enough on his plate worrying about Yoru's plan to kill all Dream Demons he can find, still not having anything on Pharos Heracles and Caser John Doe no longer being in his dreams, meaning he wouldn't be able to even enter Daydreams anymore; but if he had to deal with this again he wasn't sure if Merry could handle it all by herself.

But of course, Yumeji wouldn't be able to avoid Mr. Ijima since he got his job at the school back. Whatever he had planned to do yesterday, he would probably try to get it done today. Just to compact this belief, Isana and Yumeji crossed paths with Mr. Ijima on their way to class. "Ah, Mr. Ijima!" Isana greeted him enthusiastically.

"Ah, Isana, Yumeji; good morning," Mr. Ijima said and bit into a rice ball. "Sorry our reunion was cut short yesterday Yumeji, hope you weren't feeling ill."

Yumeji replied while pretending nothing was wrong. "No, no, I was just tired that's all, but I'm fine now."

"Glad to hear it. Now you better get to class if you don't want to be late." Mr. Ijima told them and walked off, devouring the rest of his rice ball.

The two of them got to class and went over to Taka and Saki, who were already there. But when it was just a few minutes to the beginning of class, Saki notice Isana looking around worriedly. "Hey Sana, something wrong?"

"Huh, oh no, I just don't see Fukui again today. Do you think he's up on the roof again?" She asked, thinking about when they found him last time.

"If he was, would you _want_ to bother him again?" Saki asked, and Isana sank into her chair a bit, thinking about his reaction last time.

"Fukui probably just needs time to adjust. He did just move here after all." Taka added.

"Yeah, okay." Isana said, and let the topic drop.

The school day went by but there was still no sign of Yoru, meaning he may have really ditched class like he had yesterday. As the release bell rang and students were beginning to leave the classroom, Mr. Ijima opened the door and walked over to Yumeji's group.

"Mr. Ijima, welcome back." Saki greeted. "It's so great having you back, you were always the coolest teacher around here." She told him.

"Thanks for that, Kirishima." Mr. Ijima smiled as he ate another rice ball. "And Yumeji, there's something I want to talk with you about, so hang back for awhile."

Yumeji became nervous at Mr. Ijima's request. If the reason he had returned really was to get back for Mistleteinn, this couldn't mean anything good. "R-right," He replied, not exactly able to deny a teacher.

"Then I'll be waiting at the gate, okay Yumeji?" Isana said.

"Nah, that's fine, go on home without me." Yumeji told her.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, no problem; don't worry about it."

"Well, okay…" Isana agreed and left, leaving Yumeji alone with Mr. Ijima.

For a moment, neither Yumeji or Mr. Ijima spoke, and the teacher simply looked at Yumeji from behind his glasses with a displeased expression.

After a minute or two, Mr. Ijima took a step so that he was standing parallel to Yumeji and lowered his head with a sigh. Finally, he spoke. "I'm sorry." He said.

Although just two simple words, the use of them completely stunned Yumeji beyond words; no matter what had happened to Mr. Ijima after losing Mistleteinn, that phrase was the last thing he expected to hear Mr. Ijima say.

"I'm so sorry, Yumeji." Mr. Ijima repeated himself. "I know there's no excuse for what I did, and I don't even know what it was for anymore. Mistleteinn just dragged me in; her evil infected me like a virus, I just couldn't stop."

"What are you-?"

"I know I don't deserve forgiveness. But I'm truly sorry for everything I've done and the trouble I've caused you!" Mr. Ijima told Yumeji, bowing his head in remorse. "Cold you ever find it in your heart to trust me?" He asked.

At those last words, Yumeji was brought back to Chaser John Doe's words. Looking to the side, Yumeji answered. "It's not a question of 'trust' anymore."

Mr. Ijima looked at Yumeji with a bit of surprise. "What do you mean?"

"To test a man's character, give him power…" Yumeji muttered under his breath to where Mr. Ijima couldn't hear it. "You say Mistleteinn drew you in, and maybe that's true but…" Yumeji paused. "But say Mistleteinn were to come back somehow, or even if you were possessed by a different Dream Demon like her; could you say with confidence that you wouldn't simply disregard everything you've just told me and go back to being evil?"

Stunned, it took Mr. Ijima a moment to respond. "No, I suppose you're right. I wouldn't be able to promise you that at all." He answered. "But even so, I'm saying it now. I'm sorry." He said once more.

Yumeji thought about if there was anything left to say or be done. When he came up with nothing else, he spoke. "Well, to put any suspicion to rest… do you mind if I check?" He asked, holding up his hand with his fingers making a circle.

Mr. Ijima dropped his head a bit. "Ah, that's right; you did have that power didn't you? Sure, go right ahead." He told Yumeji, who then held his hand over his eye, looking through the circle.

Looking at Mr. Ijima like that, Yumeji saw no black; just the normal color spectrum that he would see when looking at a person's dreams. "All clear, no Dream Demon on you." Yumeji said, showing a light smile as he did.

If Mr. Ijima didn't have a Dream Demon on him, then at least he wasn't a threat. And if Mr. Ijima meant everything he said, then it could go back as it used to be between them. "Well then, that's all I wanted to say." Mr. Ijima said. "You're free to go now."

"Right, see you tomorrow." Yumeji said and left the classroom.

When Yumeji was gone, Mr. Ijima smiled softly to himself. "I'm glad that kind soul of yours hasn't changed Yumeji; thank you." He said to himself, and then made his way out the door as well.


	7. NREM 1: Crossroads

_NREM 7: Crossroads_

"I don't get it, I just don't get it." An elderly doctor in a clinic said to himself as he did the fifth check on the patient lying on the bed in front of him.

In response to the man's words, a young girl came around a curtain. "What don't you get, grandpa?" It was Yui Konagi, and the boy lying on the bed was a certain boy who had suddenly collapsed in the middle of a sidewalk for an unknown reason.

Unbeknownst to them, the boy's name was Yoru Fukui. "As far as I can tell, this boy is in perfect health; there's nothing wrong with him. All his vital signs check out alright and he's not injured anywhere. As far as I can tell, it's like he's just sleeping!" Dr. Konagi said.

Hearing all of this, Engi Threepiece – Yui's Dream Demon – gave her input. "(It would seem this boy's injuries are not of the normal variety.)" She said.

Yui picked up on what Engi meant. "(Engi, does that mean…)"

"(Yes, it would seem his injuries are of the dream realm.)" Engi confirmed. "(If this is true, then he might be possessed by a Dream Demon.)"

"(What should we do?)" Yui asked.

"(I will open my Daydream. If this boy is possessed by a Dream Demon, we must determine if he is friend of foe. Whatever the outcome, we should also contact the Dream Eater and Yumeji.)"

"(Okay, then let's do it.)" Yui said, and then Engi opened up her Daydream.

When the Daydream was opened, Yui and Engi stood within the grass of the garden, and then appearing next to one of the large rocks, a Dream Demon in a black cloak used his hand to steady himself against it.

"What the- not now." Yoru muttered as he realized he was in a Dream Demon's domain. His wounds were still deep from his fight with Heracles.

In his current condition, he wouldn't even be able to properly fight a weak Dream Demon. But because he was brought in to another's Daydream, he could do nothing to escape; if the Demon wanted a fight, Yoru was almost certain to lose.

"You there," Engi spoke to Yoru, without knowing he was human. "Dream Demon, where is the human you use as a vessel?" She asked, not noticing another person within her garden.

But Yoru was in far too much pain to reply, even if he wanted to. "Engi, I think he's hurt too." Yui said, realizing Yoru was gripping his chest.

"I suppose that makes sense. If even his vessel was caught up in the battle, he must have sustained even worse injuries." Engi noted, and then began walking closer to Yoru. "Please listen, I am not here to do you harm. Right now you're vessel is being treated in Yui's clinic. We simply wanted to surmises the damage he has taken." Engi told Yoru.

However, given that information, Yoru wanted to speak with these two even less. If he was being treated by this Dream Demon's vessel, then they have already seen his face and would recognize him if he turned around. "Leave me alone!" Yoru warned them, halting Engi's approach. "If you don't mean to fight me, then leave now." He said again and gripped his injuries tighter.

"First, allow us to check your vessel; we wish to be sure he is not hurt too badly." Engi pushed.

"No, just leave." Yoru ordered them.

Engi was a bit surprised, but realized that someone in his condition has full right to be wary of them and to want space in order to recover. Taking a few steps back, Engi replied. "Very well then, I will leave you. However, I still have some questions to ask you later, when your vessel awakens, I will come again." She told the Dream Demon, and then closed her Daydream.

Back in Reality, Yui looked down on the Dream Demon's vessel, who lied there unconscious. "Oh, Yui, shouldn't you be heading to school?" Yui Grandpa realized, looking at the clock.

"Oh, right." Yui said, having forgotten about school in the midst of everything. "See you later Grandpa." Yui called and she ran out the door.

In a Daydream that looked like some kind of floating courtyard, Caser John Doe stood with his guillotine blade in his hand. His opponent was one of Heracles's supporters, a woman named Chain Noir.

"To think I'd find one of you so soon after coming to Reality; I must be pretty lucky." John stated.

"Ha, if you're opposing Master Heracles, then this meeting could be nothing but bad luck for you." Noir replied.

At this, John held his Guillotine blade up to Noir. "I don't know what you all are planning yet, but whatever it is has thrown the balance of Dream and Reality out of proportion, and I will not stand for it; for I am Chaser John Doe, an ally of the truth."

"You're a fool if you think you can stop us." Noir told John and then waved her hand, following which chains flew by to attack him.

As they approached, John swung his guillotine blade and knocked them back and charged at Noir.

Yumeji and Isana met up with Taka and Saki at class and Yumeji realized that once again there seemed to be no Yoru present for class today. "Man, three days in a row?" Saki noted, leaning back in her chair. "If he keeps this up, he'll get into some serious trouble."

"Well just because he cut class that day we found him on the roof doesn't mean there couldn't be an actual reason for his absence today." Isana tried to defend Yoru.

"I guess," Saki said, leaning back in her chair with a bored expression. "But even then, there are still going to be consequences." She noted.

"And worrying about it sure isn't going to help." Yumeji added.

"Yeah, alright." Isana gave in again and slumped in her chair.

Inside Landsborough's Daydream after finishing her fight with Chaser John Doe, Chain Noir leaned back against a wall while breathing heavily. She didn't appear to have any injuries, but evidently she had still been worn down from the fight. "That damn cat, he really was tough; I can't believe I let him get away." She said, more to herself than to Landsborough.

Hearing her, Landsborough spoke up in mockery while swinging from a trapeze. "What the matter, big sis? Couldn't even handle one of those guys on your own?"

"Put a sock in it." Noir warned. "We were about on the same level, more than being unable to beat him; it would have been time consuming."

"I see," Landsborough said as he swung from the trapeze and landed next to the cage he had his vessel in, looking down on his unconscious face. "Well, did you at least get a good look at the cat-man's vessel?"

At Landsborough's question, Noir smirked a bit. "Yes I did, it was a rather amusing choice actually." She said, causing Landsborough to look at her with curiosity.

"Hm, what's that mean big sis?"

"I tell you later, right now I need to sleep off the fight." Noir said and began walking away. "Keep my vessel occupied until I wake up.

"Roger that," Landsborough replied and made a salute as he closed the Daydream.

In the real world, the two Dream Demon's vessels were together. Landsborough was still in control of his and was smoking another cigarette he had purchased. Next to him was a little girl in overalls and a cap, who was Noir's vessel, named Hina. "Huh, how did I…" Hina muttered to herself.

Up to that moment, Hina was under Chain Noir's control, and had no memory of anything Noir did, so to her, she had suddenly shown up in a place far from where she was just a few seconds before.

"Hey kid," Landsborough said to Hina, who looked up at him. "You said you wanted to go to the park right? We should get going."

"Huh, do I know you, mister?" Hina asked.

"Yeah, you got lost and asked me for help remember?" Landsborough told her. Of course there was no way the girl could remember that since it never actually happened; he was simply trying to keep watch over her until Noir woke up like she asked him to.

"Really? I don't remember…" Hina muttered, trying to remember these events taking place.

"Well that's alright, let's just get going." Landsborough told her and began dragging her toward the park.

"I'm back," Yui said as she entered her house. She placed her down on the table and then remembered the boy that had been brought in who had a Dream Demon and had severe mental injuries. She went over to where he had been and drew back the curtain to check if he looked any better at all, but instead, she found that the bed was now empty. "Grandpa, where's that patient from this morning?" She asked.

Her grandfather looked over at the empty bed before answering. "I transferred him to the local hospital." He said.

"What, why?" Yui asked, having planned to speak with his Dream Demon after his recovery.

"Because there was nothing I could do for him." Her Grandfather told her. "I must have looked over that boy 50 times, but there was nothing physically wrong with him. There was simply nothing I could do so I transferred him to the hospital and told them to have a neurologist look over him."

(Engi, what should we do?) Yui spoke with Engi within her mind.

(We should ask Yumeji if he knows anything about the boy, as I recall, it looked like the boy was wearing a uniform from his school.) Engi answered, and thinking back Yui realized she was right. (We also still need to make sure if the Dream Demon possessing him is hostile, so at some point we should visit the hospital and see what we can learn.)

(Alright.) Yui told Engi, and then opened the door to leave again.

"Ah, Yui where are you going?"

"Oh, I forgot I'm supposed to meet up with Yumeji. I'll be back later." Yui told her Grandfather and closed the door behind her.

Isana and Yumeji had just gotten home and Merry was there waiting for them. "Welcome back," She told them.

"Hi Merry," Yumeji replied.

"Hi dad," Isana called over to her father who was cleaning some of the dishes.

"Yo, how was school?" He asked them.

Isana hesitated in answering, thinking about Yoru again. "It was alright, I guess."

It was about an hour later that someone came into the store "Welcome, come on in!" Mr. Tachibana said to the person as they came in, and the others looked over to see it was Yui.

"Yui, what're you doing here?" Yumeji asked.

"Actually, there's something I need to ask you Yumeji." Yui told.

"Something to ask me; what is it?" Yumeji asked, although because Isana and her dad were present, she would be able to talk.

She could have Engi open her Daydream later and they could talk, so that would just leave making an excuse question she could say in front of Isana and he father. "Um, it's about a boy who was admitted to our clinic yesterday afternoon. He was wearing your school uniform, so I was wondering if you knew him." She said.

"Really, what's his name?" Isana asked.

"We don't know, he was brought in after collapsing in the street, and he didn't have any ID. I do remember he also had a leather jacket over his uniform though." She noted.

Both Yumeji and Isana suddenly gasped. The leather jacket was the key; there was only one person in their school that wore a leather jacket over their uniform, the new student who had been absent from class the past three days, Yoru Fukui. "Fukui, he collapsed!?" Isana asked with surprise. "What happened to him?"

"We don't know, my grandpa couldn't find anything wrong with him, so he transferred him to the hospital. I'm sorry you had to find out like this." Yui apologized to Isana, who was taking this quite hard for how little she actually knew him.

(Yoru did?) Yumeji thought to himself. (What could have happened to him?)

Yui tugged on Yumeji's sleeve to get his attention and knocked her head twice with her fist. Yumeji realized she had switched out with Engi. If she was doing this, then that meant she might have learned about Yoru's powers and come to warn him.

Engi was likely about to open up her Daydream in order to speak privately, however, (John isn't in my dreams anymore. I won't-)

But Yumeji's thoughts were cut short when he suddenly found himself standing within a field of grass sitting underneath a full moon with Merry, Yui, and Engi. "Ah! How many times do I have to tell you not to do things so suddenly, Eggplant Lady!?" Merry bickered at suddenly being dragged into the Daydream.

Yumeji looked at the palm of his hand and wondered just how it was possible for him to be here when John had already moved on to a new vessel. "What?" He muttered, but was then brought back to the matter at hand by Engi.

"So you do know the boy?" Engi confirmed.

"Yeah, he transferred to our school just recently." Yumeji told her.

"Are you aware he has a Dream Demon?" Engi asked.

Yumeji looked up at Engi for a second before he corrected her thinking. "Actually, he doesn't have one."

Engi and Yui were surprised when Yumeji said this. "But we checked, we saw his Dream Demon and we tried to talk with him, but he was afraid of letting us close because he was injured." Yui explained.

"No, Yoru doesn't have Dream Demon because he killed his." Yumeji told them, and their eyes widened in shock. "I don't know how he did it, but he killed his own Dream Demon and gained its powers. The person you saw was Yoru himself."

"A… human?" Engi questioned that fact.

"It gets worse," Yumeji noted. "Yoru is on a mission to destroy all Dream Demons without exception, even though he knows doing so kills the human's dream along with it."

"No way…" Yui said and covered her mouth because of the shock.

"But, how… how do stop him without hurting him?" Engi asked as she clenched her shaking fists. Engi was just as against harming the humans as Yumeji and Merry were, so this was eating her up just the same.

"We're trying to figure that out." Merry said. "I fought him once already, but he got away."

"He let us go once, but next time we fight him, he won't stop until he kills Merry. By then, we need a plan or we're in serious trouble." Yumeji stated, and then a minute of awkward silence followed.

"There's nothing left to say, I'm ending the Daydream." Engi said in depression, and the four of them were flashed back to Reality.

"So you don't know what wrong with Fukui?" Isana asked Yui.

Engi quickly switched back to Yui so she could answer. "No, I'm afraid not." She told Isana. "Sorry, I just wanted you to know if you knew him."

"It's alright, thanks for telling us." Isana replied with a forced smile.

"Well hey, since you came all this way, why not stay and have dinner with us?" Mr. Tachibana suggested, probably attempting to alleviate some of the tension.

"Thank you for the offer, but I need to get back home." Yui said and bowed, and then turned and walked out the door.

After Yui left, Yumeji and the others had dinner and Isana did a poor job of concealing the depression she was feeling knowing about Yoru's condition. Once dinner was over Yumeji and Merry went upstairs to his room to talk about how things were developing.

"Yoru was beaten." Yumeji stated. "What could have happened to him? Was he injured while fighting a Dream Demon?"

"It seems like it, but who would do something like that to him?" Merry asked.

"Damn it," Yumeji muttered and punched the ground. "There's too much happening all at once! We just can't keep up with it all."

"But we have to do something, right?" Merry asked, hoping for Yumeji to give her some kind of assurance.

Yumeji kept his head down and sighed before starting to respond. "I-"

"I think I might be able to provide us with some insight." Suddenly, another voice spoke up from behind Yumeji. Surprised, Yumeji and Merry both turned to the source of the voice that was coming from the balcony outside Yumeji's window. What they saw standing there was a small black cat that was standing on two legs and had a cloth wrapped around its neck like a cape. "Yo, boy." The cat spoke, and suddenly Yumeji realized what was happening.

"John Doe?" He asked, completely bewildered by the sight in front of him.

"That's right." The cat replied. "Now, to the matter at hand..."


	8. Pieces of the 'Truth'

_NREM 8: Pieces of the 'Truth'_

"John Doe?" Yumeji questioned, being completely shocked beyond belief of the sight before him.

"That's right," Chaser John Doe answered, and then looked up at Yumeji and Merry, who squatted and looked down on him with amazement. "What's the matter; were you two under the impression that cats did not dream as humans do?"

"Ah, no; I guess it's just that seeing you in that kind of form isn't what I would have expected…" Yumeji stated.

"Rather, what was it you wanted to tell us, Cat Mask?" Merry asked, getting back to John's original purpose for coming here.

"Right, the reason I came was to discuss the information I managed to gather from one of Heracles' subordinates. I was able to locate one of them after I obtained my vessel." John told them. "In fact she was quite talkative."

"What did you find out?" Yumeji asked.

"She brought up that boy with the powers of a Dream Demon at your school." John answered.

"Wait," Merry quickly leaned down toward John when he said this. "Does that mean this person you fought is the one who hurt the Reaper Boy?"

"No;" John corrected Merry. "That deed was done by Heracles himself." He told them, and the two of them were extremely shocked.

"What…?" Yumeji questioned.

"I know; it must be hard to believe. From what this Chain Noir said, it seems that this Yoru managed to locate Heracles and attacked him."

"Wait a sec-" Yumeji interjected. "Yoru attacked Heracles?"

"Yes, that seems to be the truth." John told Yumeji with a remorseful tone. "But as we know, Heracles is not an easy opponent. And from what Noir said and the current situation of this boy, he was overpowered and defeated. Yoru must have run away after being severely injured by Heracles."

"That would make sense. He'd be just like I was after I took that attack from Engi." Yumeji noted.

"Indeed, though the extent of this boy's injuries as compared to yours then is uncertain, we can infer them to be quite serious and that he will take a longer time in order to recover. As such, this may be our chance." He said, but Yumeji and Merry became confused.

"Our chance; to do what?" Merry asked.

"To learn more about this boy." John answered. "We don't have to fight him, but if we can pull him into my Garden, we can interrogate him while he is unable to fight back. It may allow us to find an answer to how we can remove his powers without harming him."

"Do you really think we could get him to tell us?" Yumeji wondered.

"No, in fact I believe it's likely that he doesn't think it to be possible; however, I do." John said. "The idea that a human has obtained the power of a Dream Demon itself is absurd; but what is even more absurd is the manner in which he claims to have obtained them. He claims that he has gained these powers by killing his Dream Demon, but when a Dream Demon is destroyed, their Garden is destroyed along with them. If his Dream Demon is truly dead, then there is no possible reason I can think of that would allow him to utilize it himself."

"Wait, so does that mean his Dream Demon isn't actually dead?" Merry asked.

"I do not believe so." John answered.

However, Yumeji didn't understand something. "But wait, Yoru said that he lost his dream when he killed his Demon? If the Dream Demon didn't die, why was his dream destroyed?"

"I can think of a few possible explanations for why this might be, however at this point I have no clues to guide me to which one is most likely the truth." John told Yumeji. "But right now we still need to meet with this boy and speak to him, only then will I be able to form accurate hypotheses about the current situation and how to act."

"I understand." Yumeji agreed. They had so much on their plate it was impossible to keep track of it all, if they could even get a hint about Yoru, it would be a great relief for him. "We can go to the hospital tomorrow after school; I want to be there too."

"Why is that?" John asked.

"I don't know why, but I can still enter Daydreams. Yui came by earlier and had Engi pull me into hers." Yumeji answered.

"What…" John muttered and then thought to himself on what this could mean, but after a moment concluded their meeting. "Very well then, we'll all meet at the hospital tomorrow afternoon." He told Yumeji and Merry, who both nodded in agreement. "I'll see you both there." John told them before heading out to the balcony, getting onto all fours and jumping down to the streets below.

The next day at school, Yumeji noticed that there was still no Yoru, which must have meant he was still recovering at the hospital. However, today in class he did see Chizuru walk in, however when their eyes met she did not seem to acknowledge his being there, and her eyes were cold and barren.

She must have still been recovering like Yoru had said she would be for a while. From what Yumeji had seen the day Chizuru had come to speak with him, it seemed as though she was having lapses, times where her mind was stabilized and times where her mind went blank.

Those that didn't know her well wouldn't have noticed the difference in her behavior anyways. Before becoming friends with Isana, Chizuru had acted cold and distant like she did now anyways. So to everyone else, it just looked like she was being her usual self.

Yumeji wanted to go over and try to say something to her, see if he could snap her out of her trace-like state, but he had very little confidence it would help anything and left it alone for the time being. When Chizuru recovered, she would come to him.

Isana however did not know the truth behind Chizuru's condition, which made her behavior look abnormal. This also meant that Isana had no problem attempting to engage Chizuru despite her condition. Isana attempted to question Chizuru as to why she was behaving this way and what had been the cause, but Chizuru barely acknowledged her standing next to her, let alone answer any of her questions.

When class started though, Isana was forced to abandon her mission and sit in her desk. She was by no means through interrogating Chizuru of course, and was sure to come back later to try and pry the information she wanted again, and would likely be just as successful as she was the first time.

Because Yumeji was anticipating the future conversation with Yoru which may lead them to a way to take his powers away without harming him, the school day felt twice as long as usual. He was hopeful that if things went well they could take Yoru's powers away and be left with one less problem on their plate.

Also, he hoped to ask Yoru about Heracles, who had injured him in the first place. If he had fought Heracles, then he may have seen who his vessel was, and then they would be able to find him and maybe put an end to everything. Yumeji was hopeful, but with how fixed Yoru was on killing all Dream Demons, he doubted it would go so smoothly.

Finally, the school day ended and Yumeji told Isana to go home ahead, saying that he had something to do at school before he left. Of course that was a lie and he really headed to the hospital to meet up with Merry and John. When he arrived, the two of them were already there waiting for him.

"There you are; we've been waiting for you." John spoke in a low voice to keep the people around from hearing him since cats after all couldn't talk.

"Right, so it's time to talk to Reaper Boy." Merry said, looking at the hospital with Yoru in mind.

"Open up your Daydream John." Yumeji told John.

"Got it," John replied and did as he was asked.

The next second, the three of them were standing with John's Garden. "So where's Yoru?" Yumeji questioned, looking around without seeing him.

To answer him, a voice shouted loudly. "He's over here!" One of John Doe's servants called to them from a distant rooftop. "We've got him!" The cat girl told them.

Yumeji, Merry, and John made their way quickly to the indicated location where they found who they were looking for. Being surrounded by John's soldiers to keep him from trying to run, Yoru sat on the ground with deep injuries. When they arrived, Yoru lifted his head to look at them, but became surprised upon realizing who they were.

"You two!" He shouted with anger at Yumeji and Merry especially. He got to his feet so fast that he became dizzy and almost fell forward onto the ground again. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"We came to talk." Yumeji answered. "We want to figure out a way to take away your powers without harming you."

"You can't!" Yoru exclaimed. "These powers are part of me now, they can never be severed. If you want to stop me you're going to have to kill me."

"And what makes you say that, boy?" John asked Yoru, who looked up at him with the same hatred he held for all Dream Demons. "Actually, first answer me this: Just how much do you know about Dream Demon's and their powers?"

"What's it to you, Dream Demon?" Yoru answered with a question of his own.

"I am an ally of the truth, and your situation is a very curious and mysterious thing. So before I explain everything to you, I'd like to hear just how much you really understand about us."

"I know enough."

"I don't think you do. You say you killed your Dream Demon, which in itself is something I'd like to inquire on how you managed to pull off, but you don't seem to realize that Dream Demons exist side-by-side with their Gardens. If your Dream Demon was truly dead, it's Garden that you still manage to use would have died with it. So tell me boy, if your Dream Demon is dead, why does its Garden remain?"

"I don't care how!" Yoru basically ignored the question and the merit it held because of his hatred of Dream Demons. "I have this power, and I'll use it to destroy every last one of you Dream Demons!"

"Then let's backtrack now; just how did you kill your Dream Demon."

"I've got no reason to tell you." Yoru answered, clenching his fists tightly as he stared at John.

Yoru wanted so much to use his weapon to cleave the Dream Demons in front of him to pieces. But even if they would not harm him, it didn't change the fact that in his current condition, he would never be able to harm them either. That futility was the only think that allowed Yoru to hold himself back from fighting, and even then it was barely enough to restrain him.

"But you also have no reason not to tell us." Yumeji told Yoru. "If what you say is in fact true and there is no way to sever your powers away from you without killing you, then no matter what we know about you, your powers, or how you got them, it won't do us any good."

"Like I care, do I seriously need a reason not to give my enemies information about me!?" Yoru yelled at Yumeji. "Bottom line is that you aren't getting me to say anything! So unless you plan to kill me, you might as well close your Garden and leave me alone."

"Answer me one thing, and I will leave you." John told Yoru, trying to get something out of this meeting. "With your knowledge of Dream Demon's, just what makes you so sure your powers cannot be stripped from you?"

It was an underlying question. If Yoru actually had a concrete reason behind his idea of his power being irremovable, then they might actually have to accept that it is true. But, if he was purely trying to convince them of it just by saying it, then there was no reason there couldn't be one.

Yoru knew all of this as well, and this time, if he didn't answer, it would be the same thing as admitting that there might actually be a way to strip his powers. Understanding but hating that fact, Yoru looked up at John and gave his answer. "Because I tried for months to get rid of them myself." He said. "After all, I hate Dream Demons, why on earth would I _want_ to have the powers of one. When I found that I had them I tried everything I could think of to get rid of them before finally coming to the conclusion that it wasn't possible."

"So that's when you decided to use them to take revenge on Dream Demons." Merry noted.

Yoru didn't confirm or deny it, but instead just shot Merry a cold look. "Now get away from me." He ordered John.

John looked down at Yoru for a moment before he responded. "Very well, but we will meet again, boy. You can be sure of that."

"I would expect to, I still need to kill you!" Yoru proclaimed just before the Daydream ended.

Back in Reality, Yumeji turned to John again. "So, what do you think?" He asked.

John's opinion would likely be the best inference of what the situation is like and how they should proceed. After giving it sufficient thought, John gave them his answer. "He may have attempted to get rid of his Dream Demon powers himself, but that does not prove that it is impossible; it may simply be that he did not know enough about Dream Demons to properly discern a capable method of doing so." He explained. "And I still do not believe that his Dream Demon could actually be dead if its Garden still exists. Therefore, if we can find a way to bring the young boy's Dream Demon back to the surface from wherever it is, we should be able to strip him of his powers."

"That's great!" Merry celebrated. "Nice work Cat Mask!"

"Of course, this is all hypotheses." John warned Merry. "If I want to be able to prove any of this, I will need to look into this condition where a human gains the powers of a Dream Demon more."

When John said this, he looked over to Yumeji, who caught on to what he was suggesting. "You mean Chizuru?" Yumeji confirmed.

"Indeed, as she was once your ally, she should be more willing to speak with me to allow me some idea of how this phenomenon takes place. I'm also worried about her current condition; she told you before that the boy has already pulled her into a Daydream. This means that she is also vulnerable to hostile Dream Demons she might happen across, which is even more dangerous for her because she has not fully recovered yet."

"And she said that Yoru told her being in a Daydream might have accelerated the recovery process. So if you draw her into yours for an extended period of time, she might recover even sooner." Yumeji suggested.

"Indeed, this is what I hope as well. And with everything on our plate right now, another comrade in arms would certainly be helpful." John added. "I should speak with her myself as soon as possible, but the two of you should head back home before the others begin to worry."

To this, Yumeji and Merry nodded their heads in agreement. "Alright Cat Mask, we'll leave this to you." Merry said.

"Be sure to fill us in later John." Yumeji told him.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to; well then, I'll be seeing you two soon." John told them, and then began walking off on his own away from Yumeji and Merry.


End file.
